Into the Light

11

He passed her a glass of the sparkling pink liquid. She sniffed it, then took a sip, and sighed. "Okay, maybe I don't hate you after all." We all laughed, and got our drinks ready in hand. "I would like to make a toast," Sam said, holding his champagne flute up, looking at Anna. "To Anna. You are definitely one of a kind. It's not every day that someone comes back from the dead. Well, I mean, back, back. Like in your body. Not a ghost. Anyway," he said, after I shot him a look. "After everything you've been through, you still find a reason to smile and be optimistic. Not everyone fits in with us, because you have to be a special kind of person. We're the weird kids." Kat and I chuckled at this. "But I'm glad that you fit in so well. So, I guess all of my rambling just comes to this. Welcome back to your new life." "Here, here!" I exclaimed, and clinked my flute with all of theirs. "This is really good," Anna replied, after chugging half of hers. "Apparently," I laughed. Her cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment. "Seriously. I think that my taste buds were hindered when I was a ghost. Because this has to the best thing I've ever had to drink. Is there food? I'm hella starved." "Yeah, you can eat on those cheese and crackers until I get back. I'll get you something," Kat said, finally, and stood up. "Thank you, Katrina," Anna replied, already piling a cracker high with cheese, while munching on the grapes that were also available. "Slow down, Love," I laughed, gently. "It's not going anywhere and there's plenty more. You're going to choke yourself. You can actually die now, so I need you to be careful." She met my gaze, with her cheeks puffed out. She looked like an adorable, emerald eyed chipmunk. She chewed a few more times, then swallowed hard. "I can't help it. I feel like I haven't eaten in years! It all tastes so amazing!" She stuffed her mouth with more grapes, and kept chewing. "Huh...I guess you haven't eaten in years," I replied, thinking about what her circumstances had been like. She froze, her eyes going wide, as they met mine. She started to chew again, slowly, and swallowed. "Oh my God, you're right...I haven't eaten in 3 decades." Her forwards creased with those cute little lines, as she started to think about that. I didn't want her getting caught up in it, or getting upset, so I had to say something. "That just means that you have a lot of time to make up for. What would you like to eat? Do you remember what your favorite food is now? Just tell me all of your favorite foods. I'll order everything and have it delivered." She shook her head. "Can we go pick it up? I would love to ride, with the windows down. It would be so nice to feel the wind on my actual body instead of my ghost body. I'm guessing that, if my taste buds were desensitized, then so were my other senses. I know my vision is. It was like I was looking through a haze before. Now, everything is so clear. I can see you so cleary." She stared at me then, with an intensity that had me feeling things that she wasn't ready for. I cleared my throat and looked down at my phone. "Of course we can." She shocked me by jumping up and clapping her hands. "Yaaay! Okay, Katrina, can I borrow some clothes? These are a little outdated. I promise not to just disappear and leave them laying in random places around the house and yard." Kat laughed and nodded. "You can borrow whatever you want. Come on, you know I always have extras in Sam's room." They walked out, giggling together, then I could hear them basically running up the stairs. "They're so cute," Sam said, turning his head back towards me. I laughed and shook my head. "Yeah, they're cute." "What's wrong with that?" he asked. "Nothing. Just weird to hear you say it, not in a joking way." "Huh...you may have a point. They're still cute though. So, what's the plan?" "What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely confused. We hadn't discussed any kind of plan. He rolled his eyes and looked at me like I was one of the most clueless people to have ever lived. "Colby...for tonight. What's the plan? With Anna. You just going to pick up a hundred different meals, or are you taking her somewhere else? In other words, how long are you going to be gone?" Oh. He wanted the house to himself for a little while. "Until you text me, I guess," I answered, laughing. "Good answer. Thanks brother. I know you aren't getting any so, I appreciate and recognize the sacrifice," he replied, in a professional tone. I threw the water bottle that Beth had left behind at him, clipping his ear when he ducked. "OW-WA! Damn. This is what I get for recognizing the fact that you are helping me get some much needed...release, even though you, yourself, will not be getting any release for a while. Probably for a long while. You know, I bet that's why you've been grumpy these past few months. You could always just-" "Sam, I will throw this entire gallon of my water at you, I swear. Shut it," I warned. He grinned. "Just saying thanks," he said, before quickly ducking out of the way before I had even raised my jug. "Yeah," I grunted. "You're not wrong though. It's going to be a while. With her being a ghost, it was hard to resist since she could become solid, but now that's she's not a ghost...I never really thought about the long term with her. Because I never thought it would actually happen. I never thought beyond the next day, or the next week. I mean, I grew up in church. I have some of the same beliefs that she does. Most of them, actually, but this particular one..." I didn't get to finish my thought because I heard a door open, and the girls giggling. "I don't know how you managed to make me look like this within a matter of minutes," Anna gushed. I heard the thud of their steps on the stairs. "Hey, you wanted simple makeup, so I barely did anything there. The rest is just clothes. OH!" Sam and I both jumped over the couch, and darted to the stairs.